Chapter 1221: A Scholar Taking the Imperial Examinations (2/2)

His heart was filled with bitterness; because of the level of his cultivation base and his status, he should not have to be doing things like this. At the moment, though, he was like a stray dog. His soul was halfway dispersed and his cultivation base was unstable, leaving him with no other choice than to bow his head in deference.

The entire Heavengod Alliance was now searching for Meng Hao.... And yet, as time passed, not one scrap of information about him turned up. People were starting to get impatient because of the sealed teleportation portals; it would soon reach the point where it would become a big inconvenience to the Heavengod Alliance as a whole. Furthermore, Patriarch Blacksoul could only influence the policy-making of the Alliance up to a point.

The fact that Patriarch Blacksoul had been firm about offering himself up to be a slave for a thousand years changed matters significantly. The search would have been carried out either way, and there still would have been some form of bounty. If Meng Hao showed his face publicly, he still would have been killed. However, if wasn’t for Patriarch Blacksoul’s offer, the alliance-wide lockdown would have long since been lifted.

Every day that those teleportation portals remained sealed caused the Heavengod Alliance to sustain significant financial losses.

Before departing, one of the two middle-aged men turned to Patriarch Blacksoul and said, “At the most, the portals will remain sealed for ten days. If he hasn’t been found by then, they will be opened again. Don’t worry, though; as long as he remains in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, he’ll be found eventually.”

Meanwhile....

In the territory of the Heavengod Alliance, on one of the four planets that orbited the Eighth Mountain, a planet called Planet Luo River, there was a capital city of an empire of mortals. Countless mortals lived there, going about their daily lives. As evening fell, a donkey could be seen on the public highway, braying and snorting complacently as it walked along.

The donkey had virtually no fur, with only a few patches to be seen here and there. It actually looked very down and out, and yet for some reason, seemed to view itself as a very high and mighty figure.

A young scholar sat on the donkey, wearing a scholar’s traveling case on his back, which was filled with various reading materials. In fact, the young man was engrossed in reading as he rode along on the donkey. [1. Whenever I think about traveling scholars, the first image that pops into my mind is the main character of A Chinese Ghost Story, who wears a traveling case just like this one. Here’s another picture. P.S. If you haven’t seen A Chinese Ghost Story before, you should put it on your list of movies to check out. It’s described as a supernatural/horror movie, but has a lot of wuxia and xianxia elements]

The scholar had skin as fair as jade, and was handsome. He appeared to be a teenager, and wore a faded white garment. He and the donkey proceeded along under the evening sun.

Occasionally, some swiftly galloping horses would pass him on the public highway, leaving clouds of dust in their wake. The scholar would cover his nose with his sleeve and then wave the dust away. As for the mule, it would look very irritated, and then suddenly burst out in a fit of speed as if to catch up. However, after running for only a little bit, it would lazily slow down.

Time passed, and the rays of the evening sun were beginning to fade away. However, it was at this point that a town appeared up ahead. Apparently the scholar didn’t even notice, however, and continued to take advantage of the fading light to read the bamboo scroll he held in his hands.

Occasionally, beams of colorful light would shoot through the sky up ahead. In fact, the power of divine sense was currently sweeping across the lands, and even touched the scholar. However, it passed right over him; apparently, the mortals of Planet Luo River weren’t afraid of cultivators. Throughout the entire day, similar beams of light had appeared on dozens of occasions. Although the mortals had looked up in envy and admiration, they didn't seem frightened at all.

Currently, one such beam of light had just disappeared off into this distance. Finally, the scholar put down the bamboo scroll, stretched, and then noticed the town, which was getting closer and closer. He smiled, although deep within that smile could be seen a sharp coldness.

This scholar was the very person that the cultivators of the Heavengod Alliance were searching for high and low. Meng Hao!

After his initial flight, he knew that it would be difficult to completely evade the Heavengod Alliance, so he acted on one of the backup plans that he had thought up in advance, hiding himself on the closest of the four planets, which was Planet Luo River. With the help of the meat jelly and the parrot, and the feather they had acquired years ago, he had concealed the fluctuations of his soul and aura, transforming himself into a scholar.

There was no other identity that gave him such a sense of familiarity.

“I never imagined that I would once again become a scholar traveling to take the Imperial examinations....” he murmured. The donkey was apparently not very happy, and to make that clear, it suddenly twisted its neck in a complete circle, then continued to twist it several times until its eyes started to bulge out. Meng Hao slapped it on the rump.

“Have you ever seen any donkeys that can twist their necks around several times over?” Meng Hao growled. “Come on, let’s be a bit more realistic here. People are trying to track us down and kill us, you know. If they find us, it’ll be bad luck for the two of you as well.”

The donkey... was none other than the transformed meat jelly.

“Come on, let’s head into this town.... I refuse to believe that the Heavengod Alliance will keep everything locked down forever.” Eyes flashing coldly, Meng Hao rubbed his chest in a place where the flesh hadn’t quite grown back yet.

His cultivation base had been seriously injured because of the deadly battle. However, it wasn’t so bad that he was limited to the mid Ancient Realm, as the Heavengod Alliance presumed. He could still reach his peak power, but unfortunately that could not be sustained for very long.

“I’m going to take advantage of this chance to let my wounds heal a bit more,” he murmured. As the sun slowly dropped over the horizon, he sighed, and his face turned a bit grimmer.

The first thing he had done after arriving on Planet Luo River was to open the incense burner. However, what he had found inside was not what he had hoped for.... Chu Yuyan’s soul.

Meanwhile....

A flying shuttle was speeding along through the starry sky of the Heavengod Alliance. Countless magical symbols covered its surface, which formed together into the character Meng 孟.

This was none other than a Meng Clan merchant ship!

A young man could be seen in that merchant ship. He was handsome, with a fair face, and was currently standing there with head bowed and fists clenched tightly as the middle-aged man before whom he stood rebuked him coldly.

“Meng Chen, don’t forget that you never should even have had this chance. It's only because of the kindness shown to me by your grandfather years ago that I managed to get you this spot. Don't forget your place! You’ll just be a bodyguard here, but you need to cherish that identity. If you can just keep Young Master De happy, then your bloodline will have things much easier!

“So what if he arranged to have you spend some time with Young Lord Feng of the Han Clan? You feel wronged or something? Young Master De already agreed. You’re going to do it whether you want to or not!”

Chapter 1221: A Scholar Taking the Imperial Examinations